I suspect that, if most readers are like me, they will be venturing into uncharted territory when they open the pages of this book. My experience with mushrooms is extremely limited: I enjoy them on steaks and in salads and soups; I look askance at them when they pop up unwanted as toadstools on my lawn; and I find them interesting but dangerous when I see them in the woods. Beyond that, mushrooms are a mystery to me, though less so now that I have read Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World.